It is known that tetramethyl thiuram disulfide acts as a free radical initiator for styrene polymerization. See Eur. Polym. J. 1971, 7(6), 717-26. It is also known that tetramethyl thiuram disulfide has been used as a polymerization initiator with methyl methacrylate and styrene monomers at 70 deg. C. The percent conversion was below 7% in all cases. See Journal of American Chemical Society, "Organic Disulfides as Initiators of Polymerization: Tetramethyl Thiuram Disulfide" by T. E. Ferington and A. V. Tobolsky, Volume 77, pgs. 4510-4512, 1955. Tetramethyl thiuram disulfide was also employed in the thermal polymerization at 95 deg. C. of acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile, methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate and styrene. See Journal of American Chemical Society, entitled "Some Sulfur Compounds as Polymerization Sensitizers", R. J. Kern, 1954. It is also known that organic polysulfides can be used as both thermal and photopolymerization catalyst for styrene monomer. See letters to the editor, Journal of Polymer Science, Volume XXI, Issue Number 99 (1956), pgs. 559-561. In all of the above reactions the resultant material is a chain-extended polymer and does not contain a crosslinked structure.
One object of the instant invention is to produce a composition which on exposure to heat results in a cured (crosslinked) solid product. Another object of the instant invention is to produce a composition which can be heat-cured. Other objects will become obvious from a reading hereinafter.